Ask the Author: William Hill
Answered Questions (10)
William Hill
If I'm fortunate, inspiration finds me, whether it be in new writing or editing. Otherwise, I put forth the creativity, effort and time, even if its a slog. Writers build writing muscles as well as habits, much as do musicians and athletes. The writing is working out and the journey to the end. I In many way, writing is like hiking. The first drafts are most difficult because they are forays into the unknown, and it always seems to take longer when you are uncertain of where you are going, especially if you get lost. Once I've been along that trail, I can look for the highlights and edit out the boring parts. Don't wait for inspiration to strike. Keep working out those mental writing muscles.
William Hill
Thank you. Knowing someone outside the family will enjoy my stories helps motivate me when I'm unmotivated. What's been your favorite so far? What character has been your fav? Shadow of the Vampire is coming along nicely. I will miss my first soft deadline July and work toward October. I appreciate you taking your valuable time to type me a note.
William Hill
Too busy hunting food and killing each other to survive, humans never develop a written language or learn to read. Storytellers, historians, and writers are left bereft of creative and informative outlets, leaving humans in the dark with unused imaginations, hopelessness and despair.
William Hill
Hi Ryuuky: Both The Vampire Hunters and Dawn of the Vampire were considered, but nothing ever came of it.
William Hill
I reread Roger Zelazney's Amber series and Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry.
William Hill
My recent work is revising two books to become e-books: The Magic Bicycle and Dawn of the Vampire.
The idea behind The Magic Bicycle was two fold: the power of imagination (and thoughts) and regret feedomg the desire to change the past. If you could change time, would you? I think most of us would change something, but what might the consequences be? Would that deter us?
These ideas came to me during many days bike riding in north Texas and shortly after a house fire had changed my life. I started reworking a story I had daydreamed during my bicycling to reduce stress days while attending North Texas University and earning my MBA. At that time, I wished I had a magic bicycle that I could ride to visit my family and college friends now scattered across the U.S. Would it be magic powered, or just seem so by using advanced or alien tech? One day, while riding through Fate, Texas, I idly wondered what my future self would tell my present self to help me through the coming months and years. That sparked the idea of time traveling in the story. Since many people give up bicycling once they can drive a car, I made my main character 13, an age that's thought to be on the cusp, and wrote for young adults and the young-at-heart.
The Magic Bicycle was published pre e-book era. Instead of revising it, I rewrote it, I guess changing time in my own way. I smoothed out the narrative and added dangers to Danny's and Murg's time travels, creating more suspenseful scenes and spending more time with the historic figures, Einstein, HG Wells, Socrates, and Benjamin Franklin. I modernized the story, including smart phones and jazzed up the bicycle races, too. Working on the screenplay helped me add visual components, such as using a broken sun dial as a symbol.
One of my most popular books, Dawn of the Vampire, went out of print long ago. The story follows a reunion of blood brothers who accidently free a master vampire and his followers who have been trapped for decades under the waters of an Appalachian lake in east TN/ western VA.
My inspiration for DOTV comes from time spent on South Holston Lake, where I learned to water ski and spent summers with high school and college buddies. What if they encountered vampires? To create the reservoir, the TVA flooded a valley, and one of the higher, underwater points is historically named Cemetery Ridge, once a graveyard. What if vampires had been trapped there? How would that have happened? And why?
An old dracula movie has flowing water as a natural enemy of the undead and vampires. It just so happens, that while I was writing the book, there were repairs and improvements being made to the dam, so the water level was kept much lower than usual. That made the lake bottom and cemetery more accessible. In my younger years, I scuba dove, so I thought maybe the buddies took an opportunity to dive while the lake was low, found the vampires' prisons and unwittingly released them. When I mentioned this to said friends, some made stipulations of what needed to happen to their characters, helping create them. I made the friends even closer by making them blood brothers, thereby establishing a link between them, blood thicker than water.
Originally, there were ties in the story to Dracula, but the publisher nixed that, and the amulet became a genie-like lamp trap housing the evil Viktor Von Damme's undead soul. (This was before Harry Potter and horcruxes.) The vampire's name was a cross been Viktor Von Doom (Dr. Doom) and Jean Claude Van Damme, the real life actor. To create a unique character, I made Von Damme an alchemist and a superior shapechanger, far beyond turning into bats. I figured he was imprisoned because he had become too powerful and radical in the vampire community. How radical? He had discovered an elixir that allowed the vampires to survive moving water and the rays of the naked sun, their most deadly weaknesses. Now that he was free, Von Damme was rebuilding his Cult of the Dammed and planning revenge.
My publisher, since the book was set on a lake, wanted to start with floaters, as in dead bodies. I added floating caskets. Two of the reunion buddies go missing and one is found dead, dragging the blood brothers into the murder mystery turned horrific.
Dawn of the Vampire was first published in 1991 and went through six printings before going out of print. When the rights reverted sixteen years later, I decided to release DOTV as electronic media. Since it is my very first novel (and second written manuscript), it needed improvement. I started editing, and eventually I significantly rewrote it while modernizing it, turning it into a new edition.
The revised Dawn of the Vampire contains more humor, romance, dive time, and local Bristol and NE Tennessee color than before, and the story reads more smoothly. I thought my most read novel should be better written. In this version, I stay with two POVs, Troy who is Heavensent, a returnee from death, and a little from Dillon, the journalist and a missing person.
The Magic Bicycle is complete and the new edition is available in e-book while Dawn of the Vampire will be available in early fall.
My comics and drawings for SnowJob come from the world of snow sports and snow country, where I spend a lot of time skiing and hiking. Anything I find funny or punny is fair game. I used the format of the old resort TV shows, calling mine SnowJob. Skiing and boarding have a lot of their own lingo, and I have
fun with it, offering knowledge or Empowderment. Think of the Far Side meets WKRP at a ski resort. For example, most places, if you were talking about pizza and French fries, you would be discussing food, not positions for your snow skis. SnowJob comics can be found on my William Hill Facebook site, not the winery or sports book William Hill, or snowjobcomic.blogspot.com.
The idea behind The Magic Bicycle was two fold: the power of imagination (and thoughts) and regret feedomg the desire to change the past. If you could change time, would you? I think most of us would change something, but what might the consequences be? Would that deter us?
These ideas came to me during many days bike riding in north Texas and shortly after a house fire had changed my life. I started reworking a story I had daydreamed during my bicycling to reduce stress days while attending North Texas University and earning my MBA. At that time, I wished I had a magic bicycle that I could ride to visit my family and college friends now scattered across the U.S. Would it be magic powered, or just seem so by using advanced or alien tech? One day, while riding through Fate, Texas, I idly wondered what my future self would tell my present self to help me through the coming months and years. That sparked the idea of time traveling in the story. Since many people give up bicycling once they can drive a car, I made my main character 13, an age that's thought to be on the cusp, and wrote for young adults and the young-at-heart.
The Magic Bicycle was published pre e-book era. Instead of revising it, I rewrote it, I guess changing time in my own way. I smoothed out the narrative and added dangers to Danny's and Murg's time travels, creating more suspenseful scenes and spending more time with the historic figures, Einstein, HG Wells, Socrates, and Benjamin Franklin. I modernized the story, including smart phones and jazzed up the bicycle races, too. Working on the screenplay helped me add visual components, such as using a broken sun dial as a symbol.
One of my most popular books, Dawn of the Vampire, went out of print long ago. The story follows a reunion of blood brothers who accidently free a master vampire and his followers who have been trapped for decades under the waters of an Appalachian lake in east TN/ western VA.
My inspiration for DOTV comes from time spent on South Holston Lake, where I learned to water ski and spent summers with high school and college buddies. What if they encountered vampires? To create the reservoir, the TVA flooded a valley, and one of the higher, underwater points is historically named Cemetery Ridge, once a graveyard. What if vampires had been trapped there? How would that have happened? And why?
An old dracula movie has flowing water as a natural enemy of the undead and vampires. It just so happens, that while I was writing the book, there were repairs and improvements being made to the dam, so the water level was kept much lower than usual. That made the lake bottom and cemetery more accessible. In my younger years, I scuba dove, so I thought maybe the buddies took an opportunity to dive while the lake was low, found the vampires' prisons and unwittingly released them. When I mentioned this to said friends, some made stipulations of what needed to happen to their characters, helping create them. I made the friends even closer by making them blood brothers, thereby establishing a link between them, blood thicker than water.
Originally, there were ties in the story to Dracula, but the publisher nixed that, and the amulet became a genie-like lamp trap housing the evil Viktor Von Damme's undead soul. (This was before Harry Potter and horcruxes.) The vampire's name was a cross been Viktor Von Doom (Dr. Doom) and Jean Claude Van Damme, the real life actor. To create a unique character, I made Von Damme an alchemist and a superior shapechanger, far beyond turning into bats. I figured he was imprisoned because he had become too powerful and radical in the vampire community. How radical? He had discovered an elixir that allowed the vampires to survive moving water and the rays of the naked sun, their most deadly weaknesses. Now that he was free, Von Damme was rebuilding his Cult of the Dammed and planning revenge.
My publisher, since the book was set on a lake, wanted to start with floaters, as in dead bodies. I added floating caskets. Two of the reunion buddies go missing and one is found dead, dragging the blood brothers into the murder mystery turned horrific.
Dawn of the Vampire was first published in 1991 and went through six printings before going out of print. When the rights reverted sixteen years later, I decided to release DOTV as electronic media. Since it is my very first novel (and second written manuscript), it needed improvement. I started editing, and eventually I significantly rewrote it while modernizing it, turning it into a new edition.
The revised Dawn of the Vampire contains more humor, romance, dive time, and local Bristol and NE Tennessee color than before, and the story reads more smoothly. I thought my most read novel should be better written. In this version, I stay with two POVs, Troy who is Heavensent, a returnee from death, and a little from Dillon, the journalist and a missing person.
The Magic Bicycle is complete and the new edition is available in e-book while Dawn of the Vampire will be available in early fall.
My comics and drawings for SnowJob come from the world of snow sports and snow country, where I spend a lot of time skiing and hiking. Anything I find funny or punny is fair game. I used the format of the old resort TV shows, calling mine SnowJob. Skiing and boarding have a lot of their own lingo, and I have
fun with it, offering knowledge or Empowderment. Think of the Far Side meets WKRP at a ski resort. For example, most places, if you were talking about pizza and French fries, you would be discussing food, not positions for your snow skis. SnowJob comics can be found on my William Hill Facebook site, not the winery or sports book William Hill, or snowjobcomic.blogspot.com.
William Hill
I suggest writing every day or incessantly. That includes editing and revising. Just like athletes playing a sport or musicians playing an instrument, writers get better by learning about writing, planning what to write, writing, and revising. Stories start as diamonds in the rough and require polishing
If you write multiple books or stories, your odds of success increase. That's because second manuscripts usually read better than the first ones.
I researched the authors that I enjoy. It might help you, too. Why did they write what they did? Did they write a How to Write Better book? If so, read it, study it, and take it to heart. It worked for them. With that in mind, three of my favorites are: How to Write SF and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, World of Wonder by David Gerrould, and Writing the Script by Wells Root.
We all need editors. Find friends or family who you trust, who like to read and will read your writings and critique them.
It's good to attend writers' conferences. It can help you get published, as Publishers go, and they are working. It's great to befriend librarians. They're wonderfully helpful people, and might know about writers groups. Librarians are often glad to help promote your creation.
If you write multiple books or stories, your odds of success increase. That's because second manuscripts usually read better than the first ones.
I researched the authors that I enjoy. It might help you, too. Why did they write what they did? Did they write a How to Write Better book? If so, read it, study it, and take it to heart. It worked for them. With that in mind, three of my favorites are: How to Write SF and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card, World of Wonder by David Gerrould, and Writing the Script by Wells Root.
We all need editors. Find friends or family who you trust, who like to read and will read your writings and critique them.
It's good to attend writers' conferences. It can help you get published, as Publishers go, and they are working. It's great to befriend librarians. They're wonderfully helpful people, and might know about writers groups. Librarians are often glad to help promote your creation.
William Hill
The best thing about being an author, from a creative standpoint, is bringing your imagination to life, or at least to print, and sharing it with others. Day dreams and sometimes nightmares become manifested. In a sense, writers get to play God without putting lives at risk.
A close second would be inspiring students and helping them become better readers and writers while visiting schools. This surprised me because I don't like public speaking, but, it's an author's chance to interact with the audience and feel a little like a rock star, plus contribute to the community and your field. I learned stage magic to enliven my presentations, and I believe everyone learns better when they're having fun. They might not even realize they're learning. The only downside is the early hours. You have to be there before the students.
Two of my favorite things about being an author have more to do with lifestyle. I love being on my own schedule, and I despise rush hour traffic. Too much time is wasted sitting in gridlock. So, as an author, I rarely have to drive in rush hour traffic. When I do, it's in the morning going to a school or writers-related convention. Most people wouldn't believe me if I put not being in traffic first!
A close second would be inspiring students and helping them become better readers and writers while visiting schools. This surprised me because I don't like public speaking, but, it's an author's chance to interact with the audience and feel a little like a rock star, plus contribute to the community and your field. I learned stage magic to enliven my presentations, and I believe everyone learns better when they're having fun. They might not even realize they're learning. The only downside is the early hours. You have to be there before the students.
Two of my favorite things about being an author have more to do with lifestyle. I love being on my own schedule, and I despise rush hour traffic. Too much time is wasted sitting in gridlock. So, as an author, I rarely have to drive in rush hour traffic. When I do, it's in the morning going to a school or writers-related convention. Most people wouldn't believe me if I put not being in traffic first!
William Hill
I get exercise, liking to hike, bike and snow ski. Moving my body helps
release my mine. Meditation also works, letting go attachment to thoughts.
release my mine. Meditation also works, letting go attachment to thoughts.
William Hill
I recently finished rewriting The Magic Bicycle for e-book. I am doing the same for Dawn of the Vampire. Likely we'll print some copies for DOTV, since the book has been out of print for so long. I am also drawing for a humorous snow-themed comic of mine called SnowJob. You can see drawings on my Facebook page or Snowjobcomic.blogspot.com
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